Dr. Jin: Episode 13

Some interesting revelations this episode, though our good doctor seems stuck in the spin cycle of his own doctorly principles and that pesky thing we call a moral compass. I can’t be the only one who wants to see the day when Hyuk will run into a sickness he can’t immediately diagnose on sight and cure with emergency surgery or a shot of penicillin, can I? Call me sadistic, but I’m waiting to see him go through some challenges that actually challenge him, ones that don’t have easy solutions just because he comes from the very awesome, totally advanced future. Riddle me that, Dr. Jin.

EPISODE 13 RECAP

The boys’ meeting with King Cheoljong doesn’t go all that well, since the ailing king is interested in women and partying more than health or politics. Once outside Ha-eung describes Cheoljong as a scarecrow that Minister Kim placed on the collective rice field that is Joseon, a Joseon that Minister Kim also happens to own.

Lest we forget that Hyuk is as much of a historian as he is a doctor, he gives us Important Facts About Cheoljong in voiceover, mostly about how he was a puppet of the Andong Kim clan and an illiterate farmer, set to die soon as far as history goes. Hyuk wonders what his place is amidst all these important historical happenings, which makes me wonder if he just never learns lessons, ever.

Back at Hwalinseo, Heo Gwang is ecstatic that he’ll be promoted to the Royal Clinic along with Hyuk. But then he stops to ask if Hyuk has heard the news…

Cut to: Kyung-tak bringing Young-rae back home. He tells her that he never saw her brother, and that she didn’t either. She understands well enough, and zombies her way inside while Hyuk offers his condolences to Kyung-tak outside, and they’re not well received, since Kyung-tak assures him that he would have killed Young-hwi either way. There there, Kyung-tak, everyone knows that isn’t true.

Young-rae then has to lie to her mother that Young-hwi is studying for the government exams, all the while struggling to hold back her tears. Hyuk barely gets to see her before she disappears into her own room in order to sink to the floor and sob.

Kyung-tak makes it back home to Daddy, and he gets a promotion into the imperial guard for his work suppressing the riots, much to his brother’s chagrin. Dad makes it clear that his job won’t be guarding the royal family as much as it will be guarding his own family, and Kyung-tak readily agrees. Looks like everyone is moving into the palace.

He takes some time to mourn the death of Young-hwi when he finds his friend’s sword still in his room. Kyung-tak: “With this sword… in the end, you have cut me.”

Ha-eung and Myeong-bok pay a visit to the Queen Dowager, who tests Myeong-bok on his studies. When asked about the people’s basis for living, he answers that virtue is first and wealth is last, but that wealth must be mentioned because the people need to eat in order to live – and virtue alone isn’t enough to feed someone.

She praises him for his eloquent answer, and subsequently gets a shock when he tells her the book he’s now reading – the Zizhi Tongjan that his father gave him – which outlines the path a proper king must take. She understands the implication, and Ha-eung’s serious face tells us that this was all intentional as he sends his son outside.

Hyuk and Heo Gwang show up to the Royal Clinic for their first day of work, and Doctor Yoo gives them the hardest task – giving medicine to the king. Cheoljong refuses to take the herbal infusion and grows enraged when Hyuk tries to convince him that it’s for his own good, as opposed to Heo Gwang’s tactic of telling him to take it so he can be healthy enough to have an heir.

King Cheoljong suffers his own insecurities (probably due to his illiteracy) and has such a fit that Hyuk won’t listen to him, the King, that he starts hyperventilating.

Thinking fast, Hyuk makes Cheoljong a paper bag to breathe into from a couple of book pages and some cooked rice to act as glue. Ha. It actually works, and Cheoljong’s breathing returns to normal.

Back with the Queen Dowager, Ha-eung makes his proposition for her to adopt Myeong-bok as her own son as preparation now that Cheoljong’s health is fading. She’s shocked that he’d dare suggest something like treason, but he stands (or kneels) his ground by asking her if she wants the Andong Kim clan to decide the next king, just like they did with Cheoljong.

This seems to turn her around, because like Ha-eung, she’s no fan of the Andong Kim clan. And if she doesn’t assert her authority now, they’ll do as Ha-eung says and erect another scarecrow king.

Outside, Officer Lee makes it clear that he supports Myeong-bok as the future heir when he expresses excitement over the Queen Dowager agreeing to begin the adoption process. They’re interrupted when they see Kyung-tak approaching in his new Imperial Guard uniform, and Ha-eung is actually happy to see his savior.

Kyung-tak insists that he didn’t do it to protect Ha-eung, but Ha-eung doesn’t care – if it was mutually beneficial, that’s all that matters. Kyung-tak offers a small smile before the conversation takes a turn when he mentions the frequency in which Ha-eung visits the Queen Dowager. Ha-eung seems mildly surprised, and quips back that he thought Minister Kim had been unable to produce worthy offspring, and now sees that he was wrong. Oh Ha-eung, you can’t go one conversation without mentioning Kyung-tak’s status as a bastard, can you?

Myeong-bok asks his father if it’s a good thing to be a king, and Ha-eung replies, “Rather than it being a good thing to be a king, you should become a good king.” And basically gives Myeong-bok the equivalent of the ‘Look, Simba. Everything the light touches is our kingdom’ bit from The Lion King.

Kyung-tak now delivers gossip straight to his father and the other Council of Evil members, and news of the Queen Dowager’s upcoming adoption has them worried. Minister Kim decides to pay a visit to Cheoljong to set things straight.

Meanwhile, Hyuk finally gets a chance to confront Young-rae about his hand in her brother’s death, though he insists that even if he could do it all over, he’d still save the magistrate. Young-rae recognizes that her brother’s death isn’t exactly his fault but still can’t look at him confidently, which is fine with Hyuk – only he wants her to return to Hwalinseo to pursue her dreams.

Young-rae: “So then are you telling me to become a doctor to save those who deserve to die?” Hyuk shakes his head, “A doctor is also human. No one can come to a decision on who to save and who to kill so carelessly.” And he’s reminded of the time Mina accused him of playing god when he declared her patient’s situation as helpless.

The Queen Dowager gets some unexpected visitors in the form of Minister Kim and King Cheoljong, who really does act like Minister Kim’s puppet. They insist to her that the king is in good health and that planning for an heir is treason, which is something she refutes when Ha-eung shows up, claiming that she never planned on adopting Myeong-bok as her own. Case closed.

Joo Pal pours Ha-eung some sympathetic drinks in the gibang, proclaiming that overtaking the Andong Kim clan was never going to be easy. That’s when Ha-eung gets a brilliant idea – they still have the gold Anonymous stole from Minister Kim’s house, and now he plans to return it.

Hyuk has come to visit Chun-hong and demands to know what she knows and why she knows it – why has he come here? She only grows serious when he brings up Young-rae, insisting that he’s not destined to be with her and that he should stop now.

As for how she knows all this, she produces a cobweb-covered modern Rubik’s Cube from one of her dresser drawers. (What?) Chun-hong: “Now do you remember?”

So remember he does (since his memory is photographic), and he’s reminded of a child patient from the future who played with a Rubik’s Cube. Chun-hong explains that the child was her at the age of ten, and she’d woken up in his world after she’d fallen off a cliff trying to run away from the gibang.

The first person she saw was Hyuk, who performed the operation. Then again back in their current Past World, he’d saved her again when she was drowning, and it was that incident that brought back all the memories from the Future World she’d thought were just a dream.

Hyuk processes all this before asking how she came back to her own world, though she doesn’t seem keen on answering. All she says is that he’ll be able to find the answer once he puts everything back in its proper place. Again, she reminds him of Young-rae, the Love That Cannot Be.

Minister Kim calls Kyung-tak in to ask him about the identity of the rebellion leader he claims to have killed, and to my surprise, Kyung-tak names Young-hwi. Dad’s quick to order Young-rae’s family to be stripped of their noble status and made slaves, and only then does Kyung-tak seem to realize the mess he’s made as he stammers out that breaking this news could bring dishonor to their family.

Dae-gyun fulfills his usual role of being very annoying when anyone else is speaking, but Dad seems to be more inclined to listen to Kyung-tak’s advice. He claims that gossip will spread when the people find out he almost married into a traitor’s family, so he offers up another solution, and it’s one we don’t hear. Oh drat.

But Dae-gyun is soothed when he hears some news from Kim Byung-ok that he might be able to recover his stolen gold.

And then we hear Kyung-tak’s plan through Young-rae’s surprised words: “What do you mean, marriage? Did you say marriage?” Yes, we heard it right – marriage between these two lovebirds is back on the table after its long hiatus. How lucky are we?

When presented with the choice of marrying Kyung-tak or making herself and her mother into a slave, Young-rae still declares that she’d rather be a slave. Kyung-tak’s frustrated reaction mirrors my own when he asks her if she’d really prefer to make her aged mother someone’s slave over marrying him, and tells her that this is the last thing he can do for her to keep his promise to Young-hwi that he would always protect her.

Posing as Chinese merchants, Joo Pal and his minion strike a deal with Dae-gyun in order for him to get his gold back. He promises them control of the market if they return his stolen gold, but Joo Pal wants something a little more concrete – how about proof that the gold is his? Kim Byung-ok brings up the transaction log Dae-gyun kept from trading with the Westerners, and Dae-gyun is dumb enough to agree.

Kim Byung-ok is well aware of Joo Pal’s identity since he orchestrated the meeting, though he’s incensed to know that in order for him to get his illegal papers back proving that he tried to trade government rice for gambling money, he’ll need to give Joo Pal Dae-gyun’s illegal papers proving that he traded with Westerners for gold.

Kyung-tak spies Dae-gyun suspiciously leaving his house with an empty cart while Hyuk ruminates over Chun-hong’s words. He’s interrupted when Cheoljong randomly sneaks up on him sans a normal kingly entourage, and they both talk about returning to their respectful worlds – Hyuk to the future (which he only alludes to, for obvious reasons), and Cheoljong to the island he grew up on, where he had to leave his lover in order to become king.

However, Hyuk doesn’t really know what he wants, so the King guesses that Hyuk does know, but something is blocking him from getting it. This whole conversation is weird.

Chun-hong finds Young-rae aimlessly loitering outside Hwalinseo, and invites her to the gibang for a drink. Despite telling everyone over and over again that Hyuk and Young-rae Cannot Be, Chun-hong reassures Young-rae that she’s not part of a one-sided love and that Hyuk has feelings for her too. Wait, what? How is this supposed to keep them apart?

After she gives that piece of news, she tells Young-rae that their relationship still can’t happen, and that she must marry Kyung-tak in order for Hyuk to return. Young-rae realizes that Chun-hong must know about Hyuk coming from the future, and her eyes go wide. Chun-hong: “This is for Doctor Jin’s sake. He must return soon. And also, he’s destined to return. I think you know that.”

This doesn’t sit well with Young-rae, since she goes into a dark room to cry. Again.

And Ha-eung gets his hands on Dae-gyun’s transaction log thanks to Joo Pal, excited to see what Minister Kim’s reaction will be. He immediately goes to present the evidence of illegal trading to Cheoljong and the court.

Except he didn’t count on Minister Kim being two steps ahead of him, since Minister Kim produces the gold… and then gives his son up as the criminal? Hardcore. He’s sacrificing Dae-gyun to save himself, even going so far as to offer up Dae-gyun to be executed for his crimes. Ha-eung is clearly flustered, having been unprepared for this kind of tactic.

Minister Kim knows how to play the court, and effectively gets them to call for his punishment while making punishment seem to severe, which backs Cheoljong into a corner. Overwhelmed, Cheoljong finally decides to just send Dae-gyun into exile and be done with it, and Minister Kim is let off the hook.

Outside, Hyuk finds Ha-eung tearing up the now-useless transaction log. Ha-eung wonders aloud that even as a person who willingly accepted the King’s order for death by poison, and one who’s seen the people rise up against oppression in a rebellion, can be afraid. Hyuk says yes, which lifts a huge weight off Ha-eung’s shoulders.

Dae-gyun gets a good talking-to at home, and realizes with growing horror that his father has no plans to spare him from his punishment. “Whoever harms my family’s honor, I will slay him without any hesitation even if he is my own bloodline!” Minister Kim roars, and Dae-gyun is taken away.

In flashback we see how this all came about, with Kyung-tak overseeing the operation to catch Dae-gyun red-handed with the gold. And Dae-gyun is honestly surprised that the brother he beat and ridiculed didn’t show him any mercy. Huh.

Dad gets the rundown from Kyung-tak on the elaborate steps he used to find his brother’s treachery, more impressed than anything. Which means it’s a good time for Young-rae to pay a formal visit and declare to Minister Kim that she’ll go through with the wedding if he’ll save her family.

Minister Kim wonders whether he can believe her considering the last time marriage was on the table, and reminds her that she can’t be a member of the Andong Kim clan while also studying medicine, because it’s unseemly. She agrees that she was momentarily distracted by Hyuk’s medical skills when he saved her brother, however “From now on, as a wife of a man, I will become a woman of the Andong Kim family and live my life.”

This answer pleases Dad, and he gives the go-ahead for the wedding. (Again.)

Outside, Young-rae uses her official voice to apologize to Kyung-tak for getting married while she’s still being a Debbie Downer. He doesn’t care about that, and tells her that from now on, he will protect her and her family no matter what.

News of the wedding gets passed to Hyuk via Heo Gwang, and he has a sort of anti-reaction to the news by shrugging his shoulders and taking a walk around the market. Cheoljong’s words about distance making the heart grow fonder come back to him, and so he waits until he can have a private word with Young-rae, and asks her whether she’s giving up her dreams.

She repeats the same words he’d once told her about there being no notable female doctors in her era, and sighs that it must be fate/history. However, we soon realize that she’s sacrificing herself for his sake now that she’s talked to Chun-hong, because she says that the wedding is the best choice for everyone – especially Hyuk, who has to go back someday.

They leave it at that, and Hyuk returns to Hwalinseo to find Heo Gwang in a fuss because the King is sick. Hyuk makes it to the palace in time to see Cheoljong writhing in pain, and does a few stomach taps before he diagnoses the illness. Hint: It’s appendicitis.

Joo Pal and Minion run to tell Ha-eung the news, and he immediately asks about Hyuk, who’s about to perform surgery on the King. Joo Pal barely ekes out that if Cheoljong were to pass away like this, Myeong-bok could be taken in as the Queen Dowager’s adoptive son and made heir to the throne…

So Ha-eung makes it in time to stop Hyuk from leaving the clinic with fresh surgery supplies and tells him not to go through with the surgery. Ha-eung: “For the sake of this nation, Joseon, the current King must die.”

COMMENTS

Hyuk has definitely proven that he’s one of those people who can hear what someone is saying without actually listening or processing what they’ve heard. Chun-hong can tell him to his face that he has to stop messing around with history in order to set things right, and it’s almost as if he never heard it at all. If he’s such a walking talking historical wiki, it’s not out of bounds to assume he knows Cheoljong died prematurely and that this sickness might actually be the one that does him in – only that never seems to cross his mind.

So now he’s not even messing with a little history, he’s messing with a lot of history. There is a certain corner that his character is backed into with his Doctorly Principles in that he only saves the warm body in front of him, and I’d be okay with getting behind him if I knew what he wanted. Does he want to go home, or not? Is he sure that history will make up for his meddling, or not? Does he want to help history run the course he knows it does, or not?

What we get from him in lieu of answers are a lot of meaningful pauses and some music video brooding scenes, and it’s just not enough anymore. I want to root for our hero, it’s probably(?) good that he isn’t playing god, but he’s just the same, day after day. And in the end I guess there’s nothing wrong with being reliable, only it makes for some boring TV.

And now, the marriage is back. Hip hip hooray. This is the development I’m probably the least excited about, only because it was horrifically uneventful the first time around and promises more of the same. I admit it would have been more upsetting if Young-rae stuck to her guns and chose slavery over being Kyung-tak’s wife, but her reasoning now doesn’t make things look any rosier. Sure, she was willing to sacrifice her mother into slavery to fight the system, but the moment Chun-hong mentions that her marriage will be Hyuk’s ticket to the future, she’s suddenly on board, because it’s for him. And that’s kind of annoying.

Regardless, Chun-hong’s development was interesting, even though the enormity of the revelation wasn’t really felt through Hyuk. At least she mentioned the drowning incident, even though I still don’t know why she tried to drown Dae-gyun and herself, and now her reaction afterward makes more sense. But if things are as she claims and she landed in the future by falling off a cliff sans a fetus jar, what are the rules? Are there any rules?

July 13, 2012 at 6:43 AM

July 10, 2012 at 1:03 PM

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thanks for recap, Heads.

really appreciate splaining the tears behind finding Young Hwi's sword. i didn't get any of that-so thanks.

i'm feeling like there are no rules and the sudden reveal of the rubiks cube jolted me into thinking Joo Pal has way tooo much power. who is she anyways. so she falls into the future to get head surgery that allows her to live longer in the past and YET chastises saw bones for changing history with his new found conscience of saving everyone all the time on a dime? OY.

SNAP! it's called entertainment. i get it now, the first rule of fight club is that there are no rules.

and i kewl with that...until i watched episode 14 (next episode). sigh. imma so confused right now.

July 10, 2012 at 1:18 PM

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The best thing about Dr. Jin, Medicine Man (cause that's what I've named it in my head) is that I'm absolutely guaranteed to end each episode shaking my head in befuddlement.

The abrupt cross-editing never fails to startle me, along with realizing that Jaejoong's eyes are getting redder with each episode. He must be crying himself to sleep at night, counting down the days to the finale.

To add insult to injury, Mr. HandTowel is now singing us out of each episode on the OST. DJ is looking more like a vanity project between lead actor and director (I figure that the writer must be in a dark room, totally stoned and scribbling like mad - not much else would account for this plot - and I've SEEN ep 14! Omg - shoot us now).

July 10, 2012 at 3:06 PM

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"He must be crying himself to sleep at night, counting down the days to the finale."

BAHAHA! Yeah I like to think that JJ at least knows how this is going down - he at least admitted that he thinks his lines are cheesy.
I really think SSH still believes himself to be a Serious Actor in a Serious Drama. Oh, and of course a Serious Singer, as you pointed out. Someone needs to tell him he doesn't stand up well in comparisons with Jaejoong....

July 11, 2012 at 11:49 AM

July 10, 2012 at 7:56 PM

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Thanks, HeadsNo2. You are a trooper.

Whatever residual love I still have left for Mr. HandTowel from his Autumn days are getting ready to leap out of the window.

Back in the days, I actually enjoyed Autumn Tale, Summer Scent and most recently, My Princess. But ugh, them bulging eyes and dramatic head-tilts are driving me bonkers! And yeah, his singing gives me the heebie-jeebies.

July 13, 2012 at 6:28 AM

July 10, 2012 at 1:27 PM

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I am very confused as ep 13 - 14 just twisted things even more............ but question... if dr. jin met the fortune teller in the future when she was in a child form... and he very soon after ended up in the past.. how come he is the same age in both time and she is an adult in the past??.. one theory is that the past aged faster.. but how so did jin not age fast just like her? this question is kind of confusing but please try to understand lol.... episode 14 just killed it for me... i am anxious for episode 15 to have a better understanding.......

July 10, 2012 at 1:40 PM

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i agree MICH we should both bang our heads but not against a wall as i do not want to have a lump on my head.. maybe on a pillow will do lol.... when you have new theories feel free to let me know... as i am lost..... lol

July 10, 2012 at 2:10 PM

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why are you still watching this?? because i am determined to know what happens in this drama.. and you have to watch it to solve the mysteries of my confusion... lol we work as a team .... so hang in there.. and no need for dr. jin to run after you with a mallet .. i can do that myself.... after learning soo much from dr. jin!! lol

July 10, 2012 at 2:35 PM

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This is one of those dramas that the age old question "why am I still watching this?" remains unanswered as we continue to watch right up to the last second and then lament about why did we was all of those hours watching it. Such is our life, the drama drones!

July 10, 2012 at 8:19 PM

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I think that its because they landed on different time frame in the past and past & future do not progress simultaneously. I think Chun Hong is the first person who started the whole time-traveling ruckus. She time travelled to the future around the time frame where Dr Jin was going to travel back in time. But she then returned to the past exactly at the time when she fell from the cliff.
It's a different rules from Queen In Hyun's Man, where the past progress simultaneously with the present. And more like Back to the Future's rules, I guess.

Now this is what I'm curious about (it's crazy that amidst all the befuddlement, I still can find aspects to be curious about). Is the time travel triggered by one falling off the cliff (even without the fetus jar)? And if this is the case, did Young Hwi also land in the future and then treated by Jin? And could he be the guy at the rooftop? And the fetus found in his head is a result of the surgery done by Jin in the past?

July 11, 2012 at 10:39 AM

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Haha, but no matter how mixed up the plot is, and how bad the editing and the directing are. I keep tuning in when the sub is up. I think it got even crazier by ep 14, and still I can help but wonder what the heck happen? And what causes this time-traveling ruckus.

July 10, 2012 at 9:00 PM

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Maya, the Back to the Future's rules is exactly what came to my mind.

I had wanted to talk more about the whole time travel thing in ep.14's comment section as that is the episode where viewers' heads collected exploded lol. But to people who can't get pass the fetus thing- without spoiling you by explicitly spelling out the explanation of it in the Japanese version (which may very well be different from the Korean version, seeing so much has been changed):

Remember that Hyuk differs from CH and all other potential travelers in that, there were two "copies" of himself simultaneously in the same space (it was very obvious that Hyuk is the bandaged guy, so I don't consider this a spoiler).

If I say something less cryptic than the above, I fear I might potentially be giving that part of the mystery away :X

July 11, 2012 at 12:11 PM

July 11, 2012 at 11:04 PM

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Wow, I just read it now and come back to ep 1 again, just to fast forward to the bandaged guy. So Jin traveled to the past, then got injured, then came back to the present (at the point of time which he hasn't been to the past)--->he operates himself. And then something happened related to the fetus--->he mysteriously transferred to the past. Then that's the whole circle of events. @[email protected]

This case seems like it violates physics and logic seriously. Grandfather paradox is happening here :))

July 18, 2012 at 12:40 PM

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you are presuming, i think that she grew up in our future
and then returned to the past (Joseon period), as an adult - in which case you would be right and DJ would have aged 20yrs to become a doctor in his mid fifties....

however, it seems safe to assume she only remained in our future for a brief period of time (a few months or years), and then she returned to the past - as a CHILD
still (okay possibly as a teenager).

fortune teller now back in the Joseon period spends rest of
her chidhood, teenage and adult years becoming a top
courtesan....

now back in the future DJ only ages the SAME amount of
time that fortune teller actually spent in our time frame,
which was only a few months (or few years max), so before he jumps back to the Joseon period, he really hasn't
aged much at all........

so when DJ time slips back into the past, he returns back
the point in time where she has already grown into an adult.....

July 10, 2012 at 2:06 PM

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This show is just a crazy trip on dramaland! it's by far the second on my list of guilty pleasure dramas.
i haven't seen ep 14 but with those comments above, i can tell is a hell of a ride that i wanna read and watch, hope my laptop survives the screening, hehe...

July 10, 2012 at 2:28 PM

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The part of Dr Jin died the last episode Young Hwi, you are truly missed! Agree, this episode was meh! When will Hyuk stop messing with history! So much has been changed and he still does not get it. Where this goes from here, who knows!

July 10, 2012 at 2:45 PM

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I've only seen episode 1 (otherwise I've just been reading the recaps) and even then I wondered what was with the random scene of Dr. Jin and that little girl in the wheel chair. At least the show has come full circle there and explained it, so for that I will give Dr. Jin 1/2 point.

July 10, 2012 at 2:48 PM

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Thank you Heads for the recap!
... and I feel exactly the same ahout Hyuk, Young-rae, and the wedding that would shock us all if it actually takes place.
While ep 13 & 14 had quite a lot of plot developments, unlike ep 11 and 12 they were not nearly as emotionally engaging. Which left me wondering, do the two writers take turns to write? Are they each assigned different story arcs and or characters? Why is it that I felt there was some sort of gap between 12 and 13 in terms of characterization and tone that threw me off? I remember feeling the same sort of disorientation when they time leaped after the village burning incident.
I am also fine with Hyuk sticking to his professional ethics- as long as we first see him having gone through internal conflicts, or at least some thought process by the end of which he decided he still wanted to save everyone he could, at the risk of changing history and/or innocent people getting hurt by the patient he saves.
So I gave Young-rae brownie points when she snarked at him ("What, so you can tell me to save people that I think deserve to die?"), though these brownie points were taken away when she revealed her priorities in life to be: Hyuk going back to the present > me and mom becoming slaves > marrying Kyung-tak. LOL.
Luckily, I continue to find Ha-eung's battle of mind with Minister Kim interesting, and like the fact that Kyung-tak ends up the son that has inherited dad's cleverness. From spoilers leaked from none other than Jaejoong himself, ep 15 & 16 will have some surprising, interesting developments too, so I am looking forward to them- warily xD

July 10, 2012 at 5:29 PM

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C'mon, though. Didn't you want to reach through the screen and throttle her when she ACTUALLY CONSIDERED BEING A SLAVE WAS BETTER THAN MARRYING JAEJOONG?!?!

And yes, I get it that it's his character and not Jaejoong she'd be marrying - but hey! If I lived in the Joseon era and some wonderful guy who looked like Jaejoong was hot for me, who in their freaking right mind would hesitate?!

July 11, 2012 at 1:36 AM

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@Cynthia

lol , i think i will in YR side if she agree to marriage KT bcs she doesnt want her mother become a slave too..at least i saw her act as a good child here for her mother but she agree to marriage KT just bcs she want to help Jin, oh dear young rae...

July 11, 2012 at 7:22 AM

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Their press people said it was a mutual parting of the ways. I prefer to think she dumped him like a day-old salad, because really - I can't think of LMH as anything but good and sweet and deserving of all my devoted love. :)

July 11, 2012 at 12:23 PM

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"Which left me wondering, do the two writers take turns to write?"

OMG YES!!!! I've had that feeling while watching this show. It isn't normal and the disconnect between Young-Rae in episodes 11/12 and episodes 13/14 was so weird!!!!
I just can't understand her character. Mystery is all well and dandy as long as the revelations make sense....but she....just thinks out of her ass or something!!!! She is so freaking stupid and Hyuk....can I just smack this fool?

July 10, 2012 at 3:07 PM

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the japanese version was kind of boring (IMHO), I actually do not know why koreans chose to do this drama their own version. At least the boys here are prettier. Also, I loved Min Young in her previous dramas, but here her role is pretty boring. Thanks god for Jaejoong. Kyung-tak
looks more like the main lead then Jin himself: with him we have love trouble, sacrificies, interesting situations..

July 11, 2012 at 12:58 PM

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I watched the Japanese version and I found it wonderful. There are some dry or "tense" scenes but overall it was a good drama. Yes, the actors aren't the eyecandy they are in the Korean version but unfortunately it doesn't pan out if it is the Japanese drama that keeps the "sense" and the other just goes crazy.

July 10, 2012 at 3:26 PM

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I think the only way Dr. Jin's meddling makes sense is if he's decided that he really *doesn't* care whether he goes back to the future or not. Instead, he's just gonna meddle the hell out of Joseon and see what happens. Really, we haven't been given enough evidence to prove that Jin's actions WON'T have major implications. Yeah, a couple people he saved died anyway, but what about the other dozens who are walking around all healthy and history-changin'?

And I REALLY can't believe they made Young Rae say she'd rather be a slave. Even in the heat of the moment, I think it's ridiculous if she has any idea at all what slavery would entail - which, of course, she would.

And that's not even taking into account the fact that she should have some small amount of affection for him as her childhood friend/brother's best friend. And even at the most superficial level they'd have some pretty babies.....but no, she's all "eeew, I'd rather be a slave, bought and sold as property and subject to physical and sexual assault at all times." REALLY?

July 11, 2012 at 1:01 PM

July 10, 2012 at 5:38 PM

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Holy freaking @#$%! All of us commenting on ep 1 on Wikii were baffled by that kid with the Rubik's Cube, and we couldn't tell if it was foreshadowing or just another example of crappy editing. There it is, explaining the wisdom of one of the only two characters in the series with brains enough to blow their own nose.

Of course, e still don't know if that kid had or didn't have a brain fetus. Someone might have removed it without telling Dr. Jin, Medicine Human. He wasn't that friendly back in the present.

July 10, 2012 at 7:33 PM

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Nothing like 'Dr. Jin' to make dumb characters even more dumb.

So Young-rae rather that she and her mother be slaves than be married to Kyung-tak? OK

And Dr. Jin, who already has been told by Chun-hong that he has already CHANGED history and must get things back to where they were if he wants to go back to his time, is now adamant about saving the King (who is supposed to die and pave the way for a Joseon not dominated by the Adong Kims?).

This is where 'Dr. Jin' really "jumped the shark" and that's saying something.

The only way I can see where saving the King makes any sense is if Dr. Jin's saving the King boomerangs and ends up righting another of Dr. Jin's "mistakes" - saving the life of the LPM (just as saving the magistrate did).

July 10, 2012 at 8:14 PM

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Funny enough I don't think the show has jumped the shack. I think all the events can be explained somewhat. But am in for the ride.

There has to be something between Young-rae's and Kyung-Tak's families. When Minister Kim heard about Young-whi being the rebel ringleader he said something to the fact that now he can get rid of Deputy minister's family. I think they must have been involved in some plot to against her family.

We also have to consider the fact that she is Catholic and its a big thing. We can't forget in ep1 Minister Kim told Kyung-Tak to get rid of innocent victims by claiming they were Catholic. I would personally choose being a slave over being killed although a slave can die any time.

I like the fact Chung-yong has visited the future. I want to know why she is being so cryptic.

July 10, 2012 at 9:32 PM

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So Dr. Jin, already being made aware that his actions have changed history (for the worse), but stubbornly going to go ahead and change history even more so (making things even worse) isn't "jumping the shark"?

Esp. since he's been told that things have to be made "whole" in order for him to get back to his time?

Young-rae's father was killed for being part of the South Faction which was at odds against the Andong Kim faction, so it's not like it was some big secret.

And really? Young-rae picking slavery for her MOTHER as well over getting married.

Evidently it wasn't that big of a deal since she agreed to get married upon realizing that it would help Jin get back to his time.

July 11, 2012 at 4:26 AM

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Good heavens! Those pesky cliffs where folks can fall into the future!

"Sure, she was willing to sacrifice her mother into slavery to fight the system, but the moment Chun-hong mentions that her marriage will be Hyuk’s ticket to the future, she’s suddenly on board, because it’s for him. And that’s kind of annoying." <-- LOL

July 13, 2012 at 7:05 AM

I just realized that the comments and not just the recaps make this drama actually really enjoyable. I've been cracking up like a loon reading all the comments.

I haven't watched Ep. 14 yet, but now I'm really scared to. How much more f-ed up can this drama get? At least I'm forewarned.

As for THT, you know, I've only watched himon MP and I thought he was so hot, but I guess it was the character he played and the OTP chemistry? B/c he's looking less and less cute every episode. I'm afraid he'll look downright ugly if the extension goes through.

On the other hand, I don't find his song repulsive... it's like cotton candy, fluffy, insubstantial, but not terrible. Please no don't hate me JIW fans, but I think his voice actually better in this song than the one JIW sang for FBRS.

Thanks Heads2No for the funny recap and to all the commenters for the funny comments!